


Second

by ElectricZ



Series: For Tomorrow [3]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Character Study, Dialogue Heavy, Drama, Explicit Language, Friendship, Gen, Mass Effect 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-14
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-22 18:19:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14314455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElectricZ/pseuds/ElectricZ
Summary: (Mass Effect 2) When Shepard is away from the Normandy, the squad begins to chafe under Miranda's authority. They look to have her replaced as XO, but on a ship built by Cerberus, crewed by the most powerful mercenaries in the galaxy, a mutiny could spell disaster for all of them. Rated M for language.





	1. Turf War

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place after "Just Like Old Times" and "Friends Like These" but neither are required reading. Enjoy!
> 
> This is not a bash or hate fic, though it might seem like one at the start. By its nature, Mass Effect lets each player write their own story and everyone has their favorites in the squad. Me, I ended up liking all of them and worked to unify them as a crew. This story is about the crew settling their own differences behind the scenes, and will appeal most to the Shepards out there who worked hard to make sure everyone survived to the end.

"What does it mean that Donnelly and Daniels are on barracks restriction?" Tali glowered at Miranda, standing in front of her desk. "They are my entire engineering staff. Are you going to come down and assist me?"

The last thing Miranda Lawson counted on this particular day was being dressed down by the quarian from engineering. Yet there she was, in her own office, being chastised by the alien girl in the most disrespectful fashion imaginable. No doubt if Shepard were aboard she would have been hearing this from him, but at least the Commander would have been reasonable about it. She stiffened in her chair, took a deep breath, and interlaced her hands in front of her. "No, it means when they are not performing their regular duties they are confined to quarters. Disciplinary action will not interfere with normal ship operations."

Tali stood her ground. "Why exactly are they being punished?"

"They made alterations to the ship's drive core without authorization," Miranda explained, slowly and patiently, "in a clear violation of Cerberus protocol."

 _"I_  authorized them to make the modifications," Tali said angrily. "I was there with them, supervising. They both did exemplary work. You should be commending them, not reprimanding them!"

"And whose approval did you garner to make these modifications? Commander Shepard made no mention of them to me, nor do I see a maintenance request on file."

"I am the chief engineer as appointed by the Commander. I don't make maintenance requests."

"He should have explained to you the proper procedure."

"He should have explained to  _you_  that I need no such authorization!"

Miranda's jaw clenched."The  _Normandy_  is a Cerberus ship, Miss Zorah vas Neema, not your personal proving grounds. It's not a quarian vessel, where the chief engineer is entitled to any special privileges. We have rules that we must follow, and they are in place for a reason. Our crew are not yours to direct at a whim. They are part of our chain of command!" She picked up a datapad with her detailed report and handed it to Tali to inspect.

Tali pushed it away. "I report to Commander Shepard! Not to you, not to Cerberus!"

Miranda slid her chair back and stood face to face with Tali. "When Commander Shepard is off the ship, I am in command."

"Not of me, you're not!" Tali shouted and stormed from Miranda's office.

After the door closed, Miranda took her seat, set the datapad calmly down on her desk, and resumed processing the daily requisitions on her terminal. She would not let the quarian's temper tantrum put her any further behind schedule.

Outside, Tali paced back and forth. That Miranda sprung this little surprise on her when Shepard was off the ship was no coincidence. She tapped her comm link into the ship's network. "EDI, where's Garrus?"

* * *

"How's it feel now?" Jacob watched the turian lift his sniper rifle to his eye.

Garrus sighted down the bore and then through the sight. The weapon's balance had been dipping at the barrel because of new optics, but thanks to Jacob's modifications the rifle now rested comfortably in his talons. "Oh, yes," he purred. "That's nice. Very nice, indeed! I think I'll take it."

"Cash or credit?"

"Put it on my tab," Garrus continued to adjust his aim around the armory. "This is some damn fine hardware. Thanks for putting it together for me."

"No problem," Jacob said. "I'm in favor of anything that helps our sniper put rounds on target. Especially if he's covering me." Attaching the top-secret sighting system to the weapon probably was against regulations, but Garrus had already proven his worth several times over and giving him the technology could only improve the mission's chance of success. He activated his omni-tool. "Let me send you the manual. There are some adjustements you'll want to make after you have some live fire time."

"Roger that," Garrus lowered the rifle. "A Cerberus scope on a turian rifle. Heads will explode without ever firing a shot."

Jacob laughed. "Yeah, just don't go posting reviews on the extranet. I still need my pension."

"Your secret is safe with me. It's not a bad combination, really. Turian and human technology. After all, the original  _Normandy_  was a joint turian-human endeavor."

"I know it. Helluva ship. It's not the only thing that we put together that clicked, either. I mean, look at you and the Commander."

Garrus nodded with satisfaction. "That has worked out rather well."

"If it wasn't for you, we'd all be reaper fodder by now." Jacob leaned back against his workbench. "Man, I'd give anything to have been there with you guys."

Garrus collapsed the rifle into its transport configuration. The glory of the battle of the Citadel had long since faded for him. "Well, it wasn't all parades and medal ceremonies if that's what you mean."

"Oh, hell no. Just the chance to make a difference... regardless if anybody knows about it. I know how the Council works. Shit, that's why we're here now, right? No good deed goes unforgotten."

"That sounds like personal experience talking." 

Jacob wore a sour expression. "Well, I did a favor for 'em once, too. Stopped an assassination attempt on the entire Council. Not on the scale of you and Shepard, of course, but the end result was the same."

"Buried?"

"Then paved over, with a nice shopping mall built on top."

"Oh," Garrus formed his forefingers and thumbs into a rectangle. "You didn't even get the little souvenir plaque? 'I saved the Citadel'?"

Jacob grinned. "Nope. Not even a thank you note. It's like it never happened."

"It that why you left the Alliance?"

"Nah, I was already done with them when that went down. Stopping the assassination was a Cerberus gig. That's when I hooked up with them."

"Really?" Garrus asked, genuinely shocked. "Cerberus saved the Citadel Council?"

"Well, the Council didn't know it at the time, but yeah."

Garrus stared down at the new scope attached to his rifle, lost in thought.

"Surprised?" Jacob asked.

Garrus's eyes flicked back to the human. "It's not exactly the same Cerberus we're accustomed to dealing with."

Jacob sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Shepard's told me a story or two. There's nothing in our database that corroborates them, but then again Cerberus is pretty tidy when it comes to information. I can honestly say I've never seen anything like he described, or been asked to do anything like that since I've been with the organization."

"Do you think we're making it up?"

"No, I didn't mean that at all. I just wasn't there, you know?"

Garrus cocked his head slightly. That defense that had been used for millennia, by countless people who looked the other way. From what he'd seen so far, Jacob was too honorable of a soldier to hide behind it. "What if you're there tomorrow?"

Jacob blinked a couple times and looked around the armory full of the most advanced weaponry and destructive devices humankind could devise. He'd asked himself that question many times when Cerberus' reputation had reared its ugly head. He never had an answer until now. "Then I'll do whatever it takes back up the Commander."

Garrus gave a slight nod. He hefted his rifle in front of him. "Thanks again for the tune up. Mind if I show this to Thane? He might want one."

"Sure thing," Jacob said. "I'll fabricate another one just in case."

"Thanks."

The forward hatch spun open. Garrus and Jacob turned to see Tali standing in the open doorway. She walked in and looked at Garrus, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.

"Hey, Tali," Jacob asked. "What's up?"

The quarian barely glanced at the human as she approached Garrus. "Sorry to interrupt," she said. "Are you busy?"

From her tone, Garrus knew she wasn't there to talk about ordinary operations. The fact she didn't just call him over the intercom was proof enough of that. "No, we were just wrapping up here. What's going on?"

Tali looked over at Jacob. "Could I talk to Garrus in private for a minute?"

"Yeah, sure," Jacob said uncertainly. His relationship with Tali had remained strained since she first came aboard, no matter how friendly he tried to be. But since she was part of Shepard's original crew, he wouldn't stop trying to win her over. "I was about to go grab a bite anyway."

Garrus held up a hand. "No, Jacob, this is your office." He gripped his rifle again and nodded towards the door. "I'll go show this to Thane. We can talk on the way. Thanks again for the scope."

"All right man, no problem." Jacob said. "Take it easy. See you, Tali."

Tali gave him a half-hearted wave over her shoulder as she followed Garrus to the CIC. After they left, Jacob leaned back again against the workbench. There was no mystery to what the aliens talked about when they went off together "in private." This time, Tali seemed particularly stressed. "EDI," Jacob called out to the AI's station. "What was Tali doing before she came to the armory?"

"Chief Zorah was talking to Operative Lawson in her office."

Jacob stared at the giant Cerberus insignia etched on the wall across from him. Similar artwork adorned almost every flat surface of the ship.  _What would he do if he was there tomorrow,_ Garrus had asked? He decided he would not wait to find out. He locked up the arsenal, and then headed to the elevator to go see Miranda.


	2. Bitch Session

"We can talk in here," Tali said as she keyed the security code on the door panel next to her quarters. "I swept for bugs."

"I remember, right after you came aboard." Garrus said.

"I meant last night."

"Oh. Did you find any?"

"No, but I'm not taking any chances. You shouldn't either."

That Cerberus monitored all activity on the ship was not a secret, and for the more paranoid minded of the crew it was almost a game to see who could find and destroy the most cameras and microphones. For Garrus, though, it didn't matter. EDI's universal presence on the ship meant none of them really had privacy to begin with. But more than that, he simply wasn't afraid of what Cerberus knew about him or his activities. If they were spying on him, that meant they were afraid of him.

He liked it that way.

He stopped in the door and looked around the quarian's room. Like his own berth, it had a single bunk, a desk and chair, and a locker. But unlike his own spartan quarters, Tali had covered nearly every centimeter of every surface with colorful fabrics and weaves, even over the lights in the ceiling. The entire room was bathed in a kaleidoscopic glow from the overhead lamps as well as countless diodes and panel displays that glittered from every wall. Elastic cargo nets slung between walls held a bizarre array of electronic and mechanical components, tools and containers. It was as if an electronics factory had collided with a linen store, with the resulting explosion funneled into Tali's quarters.

"There could be an entire listening post hidden in here and you'd never know it," he said.

Tali put her hands on her hips and waited for the turian to finish.

Garrus took a step, then shielded his eyes. "Woah, I'm getting dizzy. Someone must have slipped some red sand in my breakfast."

"I didn't bring you here so you could make fun of my berth."

"I know, but it's here, I'm here... I'd hate to waste the opportunity." Garrus leaned closer to a wall to inspect a device in one of the nets. About half of the connections leading from the small, spherical instrument dangled into open air, yet it still was powered on and doing... something. "What is this thing? A reaper egg? Where do you get all of this stuff?"

Tali tapped a finger rhythmically against her suit, a sound ominously similar to a mechanical timer.

Garrus smiled. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

"Well it worked. Instead of being mad at Miranda, now I'm mad at you."

Garrus stepped around a storage crate, took a seat in the desk chair and looked up at Tali. "Well, let's get you mad at Miranda again. Tell me what happened."

"Oh, this is a good one," Tali sat on the bed across from him. "So today, Gabby comes on shift and tells me that Miranda has Kenneth and her on some kind of disciplinary restriction because of work I had them do on the drive core."

"What kind of work?"

"Nothing major, coil alignment and timing adjustments mostly. Upped mass effect output by almost three percent. I think if we make some mechanical adjustments, we might get four or five."

"Impressive. Miranda had a problem with that?"

"Violation of Cerberus protocol. Apparently as chief engineer I can't order my subordinates to make adjustments to the engines without filling out the proper forms."

"Well it _is_ their ship."

"I know. Miranda made that very clear to me," Tali leaned back against the wall. "Ugh. Every time I hear her name, I want to spit. I may end up drowning before the day is over. The point is not only did she avoid telling me about it directly, she waited until Shepard was off the ship to enforce it because she knows he wouldn't let it stand. I mean, she's been complicating things from the start, questioning every one of my decisions, but this is going too far. She can't punish me, so she's taking it out on them. Plus..." She shook her head and looked away.

"Go on," Garrus urged.

"She's a _bitch!"_

Garrus's jaw dropped. Tali's catalog of insults and swearing was usually limited to obscure quarian phrases to soften the blow of the person she was insulting, to reduce offense. For her to use a common expletive was tantamount to a declaration of war.

"She thinks she knows everything and lives to correct people," Tali said. "She never talks to anybody unless it's to complain, and I've never heard her once say anything nice about anybody. Even her own people are afraid of her. I've met geth who are friendlier than she is."

A chime erupted from the door panel, bringing Tali's tirade to a premature halt. Mordin Solus appeared in a small holo window.

"Come in, Professor," Tali called out.

The door opened and the salarian's huge eyes blinked rapidly as he took in the room. "Oh my, this is... hypnotic."

"What can I do for you?" Tali said, refusing to be baited.

Mordin stood transfixed for a moment, then jerked as if awakening from a dream. "Oh! Sorry. Hate to intrude. Looking for Mr. Vakarian."

Garrus, sitting in plain sight, waved an arm over his head. "Over here, Doc!"

"Ah. Didn't see you. Disoriented momentarily. Please keep moving. Must maintain spatial reference."

Tali sighed.

"I thought I was on red sand when I saw it," Garrus said.

"No, no, no. Red sand, stimulant." Mordin sniffed deeply. "This visage indicative of a potent hallucinogenic."

Tali rested her hands behind her head and closed her eyes. "You both must really hate having air conditioning in your quarters. I'll take care of that when we're done here."

"Hmm," Garrus said. "I think we've exhausted the topic of decor. What can I do for you, Professor?"

Mordin cleared his throat and produced his datapad from his lab coat. "Just received reprimand from Cerberus. Attempted to acquire new phase scanning array for the lab. Purchase canceled by Operative Lawson."

Garrus exchanged a glance with Tali and took the pad to read the email. He shook his head. "'Henceforth, all purchases and procurements are to be made through the appropriate Cerberus resources.' She is really trying hard today, isn't she?"

"Unacceptable," Mordin said. "Grossly inefficient. No time to wait for budget committee approval."

Tali shook her head. "She put both of my people under house arrest for making the ship run more efficiently."

"Apparently attempting to exert authority in Shepard's absence."

"Well I told her she's not in charge of me. She's crazy if she thinks acting like this is going to make us more cooperative."

Garrus read through the email once more then looked at his companions. "We really can't do anything until Shepard gets back. When he does, I'll fill him in on what's going on."

"When is the Commander due, if I may ask?" Mordin asked hopefully.

Garrus checked his chronometer. "Twenty-four to thirty-six hours."

"Hmm," Mordin rubbed his chin. "Need for scanner array urgent. Vital research dependent on it. Can't wait that long."

Garrus stood and handed the datapad back to the salarian. "I tell you what. I've got some calibrations to wrap up, then I'll go talk to her and see if I can expedite your scanner. Maybe I can find out where all of this is coming from."

"Thank you, Garrus. Was brushed off by Lawson. Would not grant an audience. Wish you better luck."

Tali rolled her eyes. "Hopefully she won't throw him in the brig for having an unscheduled meeting."

" _Normandy_ has no brig," Mordin said, rubbing his chin again. "Suggest detention in a compartment where normal visual cues are useless-"

"Stop it," Tali growled, "right there!"

Garrus looked at Mordin with an embarrassed expression. "I think we've taken this one as far as it can go. Your room looks quite nice, Tali. Sorry."

Mordin nodded and bowed to Tali. "Garrus is correct. Joke's concluded, no offense intended. Apologies as well."

"Thank you," Tali said. "Apologies accepted."

"Back to work then," Garrus turned and walked toward the exit. He stopped suddenly mid-step, his arms outstretched. "Help me find the door, Doc."


	3. Constant Interruptions

_New Mail  
Personal (1)_

Miranda saw the notification in the corner of her eye but continued to type, still trapped behind a wall of holo screens at her desk. She had two hours until she took lunch and at least four hours of work. Even if she weren't already behind schedule today, the message would have to wait. Personal business always waited until personal time, no exceptions.

Of greater interest was the fresh intelligence from informants in the Decoris system concerning ambushes of merchant vessels in the sector. She still didn't numbers, but at least knew the name of the perpetrators: Blue Suns. That revelation at least made planning possible. She checked her schedule and found the hour at 1600 to be open.

She patched into the ship's comm net. "Mister Massani, might I have a moment?"

 _"Yeah, what?"_ came the gruff reply.

"I've got some intel concerning our next mission. I'd like your input on it. Are you free at 1600?"

 _"Hang on, could be I'll still be watching this garbage masher then."_ There was a long pause. _"Nope. 1600 works for me."_

"Might I suggest you use this time more productively? We have a library full of combat simulations."

Another pause. _"You're shitting me, right? I don't have time for video games."_

"It was just a suggestion." Miranda shook her head as she filled in the slot on her schedule. "I'm sure the garbage compacter could use the attention. I'll see you in my office, then."

_"Not if I get a better offer."_

"Thank you," Miranda said and closed the channel. How someone could stay down below like that and just do nothing mystified her. If not to fight off boredom, free time should be spent preparing for their next operation. Anything less would be negligent, considering the stakes. But, as a paid contractor, Zaeed Massani was only obligated to fight, which he did exceptionally well. What he did in his spare time was up to him.

 _Who else should attend,_  she thought? It was always best to have more than one source for information. Vakarian would likely have good input considering his experience on Omega. After Shepard granted him a post on the ship, she created a calendar for the turian in the system. Amazingly, Garrus kept up with it and used it proactively to arrange meetings and briefings. They didn't see eye to eye on everything, but if she respected anything it was efficiency, and Garrus Vakarian was as disciplined as anyone on the ship. She sent him the meeting request, then slid the calendar from the display. In the mean time, four more emails had arrived.

She scanned the headers: two supply requisitions, another intelligence briefing, and routing information for Sanctum in the Decorus system. She opened that one first. Star charts and relay maps popped open in several windows. As they rendered, her eyes fell back on the unread message in her personal folder.  _You already know what it is and who it's from,_  she thought.  _So there's no need to look at it right now. You don't need the interruption._

The door chime provided its own interruption. In the corner of her screen, Jacob's face appeared. She hit the _open_ button with one finger as a prelude to a fresh attack on the virtual key pad in front of her. "What is it, Jacob? I'm very busy here," she kept typing as he approached her desk.

"I'll make it quick," Jacob replied. "What happened with you and Tali?"

Miranda's hands didn't slow. "What do you mean?"

"She showed up in the armory earlier. She seemed a little agitated."

"I see." Miranda brushed the star map window aside and replaced it with a spreadsheet. "So you assumed it was me that agitated her?"

"Come on now, I didn't say that."

"Well then, are you saying Zorah went to you to discuss our conversation?"

"No. Hell, she barely ever talks to me. I don't-"

"Then what  _are_  you saying?" Miranda waved a hand and her display went dark. She locked her fingers together on the desk in front of her and looked up at Jacob expectantly. "I'm all ears."

Jacob blinked. "Guess Tali's not the only one who's on edge, huh?"

"I'm  _busy,"_ Miranda snapped. "And these constant interruptions aren't helping any. So is that what you came to tell me? Tali's upset? Do I need to go give her a hug?"

Jacob crossed his arms. "Garrus and I were in the armory working on his rifle-"

"Oh," Miranda gave an exaggerated nod. "She went to _Garrus._ Like she  _always_ does when Shepard isn't around. Don't worry. She'll get a hug from him, I guarantee it. Is there anything else? Something perhaps related to our mission?"

"You know what? Fuck it. Never mind. It's not important."

"Well I'm glad we had this conversation. I won't keep you any longer." When he didn't move, Miranda waved her screen back to life and resumed typing. "Dismissed."

The hatch whooshed open, revealing the  _Normandy_ 's shuttle pilot behind it. He looked nervously between the two senior Operatives. "Oh, sorry," Rolston said. "I was just- I saw Mr. Taylor walk in and I didn't want to interrupt. I just needed a minute of your time, ma'am."

"Come in, Mr. Rolston," Miranda said, her eyes fixed on Jacob. "He was just leaving."

"Thanks," Rolston said, sidestepping around Jacob and nodding politely. Jacob looked over his shoulder at Miranda, who steadfastly ignored his gaze, and walked out.

Miranda sighed as she looked up at her latest interruption. Rolston's skin was flushed and his forehead glistened slightly with perspiration, deeply furrowed with worry. The bitterness in her voice disappeared. "Is something wrong?"

"It's my wife. And my daughter," Rolston said. "They're out on the rim, ma'am, I mean right out on the edge."

Miranda nodded. "New Canton. I know."

"Yeah," Rolston paced in front of her desk. "Well, I've seen some of the reports we're getting, heard some of the guys talking. The collectors are on the move. I mean look what happened on Horizon. We showed up too late. It's always too late. And we're not even headed that way, are we?"

"I'm afraid not."

Rolston took a couple deep breaths. "I'm sorry, I'm just..."

"It's understandable, given the circumstances. What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to her. I want her to go home, to Earth. Right now. I know it's against protocol. I won't tell her anything else, I swear. I'll make up an excuse."

Miranda shook her head. "Operational security prohibits any dispensing any information that could compromise our location, our disposition, or our mission."

"You could send it, couldn't you?" Rolston's eyes and voice were both full of desperation. "Please? A temporary transfer, or some kind of emergency leave or something?"

"The Alliance is making strides towards shoring up colony defenses," Miranda said. "They were too late to save Horizon, but..."

Rolston looked down at the floor. "Yes ma'am."

"How are Rebecca and Sara?"

"Great," Rolston said. "Thank you for asking. I know you're busy."

"No problem," Miranda said. "Is there anything else?"

"No ma'am."

"OK then, dismissed." Miranda said. After the pilot left, she slid the topmost display on her screen aside to reveal an Alliance intelligence estimate of the most likely next targets for the collectors.

New Canton was second on the list.

"Goddamn it," she whispered and flicked the topmost screen back into place.

* * *

Jacob waited at the lift with a cup of coffee in his hand, replaying the conversation with Miranda over again in his mind. He never intended to start fights with her, but lately she stopped listening to anything outside of ship matters. If it were anybody else, he'd think it was stress, but Miranda absolutely thrived on pressure. Asking what was wrong only guaranteed a quicker dismissal. He didn't even get it out this time.

Rolston and his friend Patel walked around the corner from Miranda's office towards the crew berthing compartment. "It'll be okay," Patel told Rolston, her hand on his arm. "Rebecca's a smart girl. She'll know what to do."

Rolston stared at the floor as he walked, shaking his head repeatedly. "I just need a couple minutes to talk to her. That's all."

They nodded to Jacob as they passed. He nodded back. "Everything all right?"

"Oh, yeah," Rolston said. "Fine. Just got some bad news from back home."

"Sorry to hear that. Anything I can do?"

Rolston shook his head again and shrugged.

"Tell him," Patel urged.

* * *

Garrus stood at his console in the main battery compartment, contemplating his next move. It was a love-hate relationship he had with the ship's scanning and targeting systems. Just when he thought he'd struck a balance between the two, the weapons themselves would lose alignment and drift minutely out of sync, resulting in a thousandth of a degree of error. It wasn't much in the day-to-day world, but for a starship traveling a quarter the speed of light targeting another vessel in a high-deflection shot a thousand kilometers away, that fraction of a degree could mean the difference between a direct hit or devastating miss.

Was it interference from the Tantalus core? Vibrations from the fusion reactor? It might have been power spikes from Gardner's garbage disposal in the mess for all he could tell, but the end result was the same. More calibration. That suited Garrus just fine. When not tending to the weapon systems, he had nothing else to keep him occupied between missions. If things never broke, they might not need him. But left unchecked, the whole system would break down.

The hatch to the Battery opened behind him. Jacob walked in, followed by their shuttle pilot, Rolston. "Gentlemen," he said, bookmarking his spot on the holo display so he could give them his full attention.

"Yo, Garrus," Jacob nodded toward Rolston behind him. "Got a minute?"


	4. The Logical Choice

"So where the hell is Vakarian?" Jack paced back and forth at the rear of the science lab. She loathed going above deck three unless it was really necessary. "I got better things to do with my time."

"Like what?" Zaeed asked, leaning against the back wall. "Do your hair?"

"Ha ha. So tell me, how you spend all your time alone? You do what all guys do when you're by yourself, or what?"

"Mind your manners, cue-ball. Or I'll take you over my knee."

"Oh, never heard that one before. Wanna see me knock you into the side pocket?"

Tali and Mordin exchanged worried glances as they waited by the lab's research station. Chakwas, Joker, Samara and Thane stood nearby, watching the two humans bicker at the back of the room. At least they weren't armed – though Jack didn't need weapons to considerable damage to her foes.

"You guys sure you don't want to invite Grunt up here?" Joker moved closer to Samara, the room's only other biotic. "Just to make things really interesting?"

Thane stiffened at the thought. "The ice underfoot is already cracked," he said. "No need to jump on it."

"The krogan already voiced his opinion," Mordin said. "Suggested I depart, unless a vertebrae count was desired. One at a time. From the inside." He sniffed loudly. "Took the hint."

"And Kasumi's with Shepard," Tali said. "So that's everybody." She checked the time. Garrus was only a few minutes late, but with the mix of personalities in the room, she wasn't sure how long she would be able to keep the more volatile ones from attacking each other. The goal, after all, wasn't to kill Miranda, but just get her out of the way.

Zaeed was calm enough. If anything he was distressingly indifferent to Tali's request to meet, considering the topic. Either he didn't care, or worse, had already made up his mind because Cerberus provided his paycheck. Jack on the other hand hated Miranda with such fury that stopping with just the XO might be a problem for her. Creating unity on a foundation of hate might lead to more problems than it would solve. That Jack openly taunted one of the most feared bounty hunters in the galaxy was proof of that.

Joker rested against the research console. "Well, the sooner we get this taken care of and get rid of her, the better. She is  _really_  getting on my nerves."

Tali laughed derisively. "Miranda has that effect on people."

"Miranda? I'm talking about EDI. Isn't that what this meeting's about? Getting rid of EDI?"

Tali stared at the helmsman.

Joker coughed. "Well, uh, of course we should talk about Miranda, too. Because, you know, she can be a real bitch sometimes."

Thane turned to Mordin and Tali. "So how exactly do you think this will happen? Do you think the Commander has enough influence to get her replaced?"

"His opinion holds great weight with the Illusive Man," Mordin said. "But replace Lawson? Unlikely. Cerberus ship, Cerberus officer. Doubtful."

"Never underestimate Shepard," Tali said. "If something is impeding our mission, he'll find a way around it. If we present it to him that way, in unison, that will be enough."

"That begs the question of who will replace her," Thane said.

Tali held up her hands, surprised anyone had to ask. "Garrus. It's got to be."

Doctor Chakwas nodded. "Without a doubt. Even the Cerberus crew members don't hesitate to go to him with a problem."

"Hell, even Shepard goes to him," Joker added. "I thought for sure he was gonna make Garrus XO the second he came aboard. Still can't figure out why he didn't."

"I think we all know the answer to that," Tali said, fixing her gaze on the giant Cerberus logo painted on the wall... and on the research equipment, the screensavers, the uniforms. They were surrounded by it.

"Garrus is a worthy leader," Samara said. "And his intentions are in line with the Commander's will. I cannot say the same for Miss Lawson. I support this goal, though like the Professor I am unsure if it can be realistically achieved."

"I concur," Thane said softly. "Garrus is the obvious choice. I think we'd all feel safer with a non-human as second in command. No offense to our friends here."

"None taken," Chakwas said. "I may wear the uniform, Mr. Krios, but I follow the Commander. And I trust Garrus implicitly."

Joker shook his head. "Well, I'm offended."

"At what?" Chakwas asked.

"Well, nothing he said," Joker shrugged. "Just in general."

"All right then," Tali looked back towards the two humans. "Jack? Zaeed? Would you care to join us?"

"So what's the deal?" Jack said, pushing her way into the circle. "We taking the ship or what? Remember, the Cheerleader's mine." She stared at the ledge on which Joker was leaning, then glared at the helmsman.

Joker hobbled aside. "Allow me to be the gentleman." Jack made a show of wiping off the ledge before propping herself against it.

"This is not a mutiny," Tali said firmly. "We're just discussing options."

"Like, what? Swapping out one asshole for another?" Jack asked the group. "Doesn't mean shit to me, unless you need someone to create a job opening. Then it'll be my pleasure."

"Yeah, well," Tali didn't want to encourage violence, but didn't want to appear weak, either. "If it comes to that, you may have to wait in line."

"Aw, that's kinda cute coming from you," Jack smiled. "'But I'll actually do the bitch." The members of the circle all looked about at each other. For once, even Joker had nothing to say.

"Massani?" Tali said to the mercenary, ignoring Jack's bluster.

Zaeed looked bored. "I got no problem with Vakarian. Made a helluva name for himself on Omega. Just bear in mind that Cerberus is holding my contract. Long as they do, I point my gun where they tell me." He gave a slight shrug. "But I won't move against you if that's what you're worried about."

"Good enough," Tali said.

"So what now?" Thane asked.

Tali checked the time on her omnitool. "We wait for Garrus to get here, let him know he's got our full support. Then, together, we present the case to Commander Shepard when he gets back."

"Shit," Jack hopped to her feet and pushed her way through the group towards the exit. "That's all you ever do. Fuckin' talk. Come get me when you're actually ready do something."

"Thanks for your input," Joker called after her. "We'll send you your list of action items."

The hatch slid apart as Jack approached and she stopped just short of running into Garrus coming in from the other side.

"'Bout time," Jack said, taking a step back. "Now maybe we can get-" her words died in her throat when Miranda Lawson stepped from behind the big turian. "Oh you gotta be fuckin' kidding me!"

Tali took a step towards Garrus, her respirator working overtime. There was no weapon in Miranda's hand, or any indication she was controlling Garrus with biotics. The only other explanation just wasn't possible.

Garrus stood in the door and stared back at a room full of faces frozen in shock. He stepped aside to let Miranda enter. "After you."

"Thank you," Miranda said, ignoring Jack's hateful stare as she passed.

Jack turned her gaze up at Garrus, her teeth bared in a half smile, half snarl. "I knew you didn't have any balls."

"Oh, don't tell me you're leaving," Garrus said with mock surprise.

"You're in my way," Jack said, getting nose to nose with the turian.

Garrus stared back at her with eyes that had seen the absolute worst that the galaxy could put on display. They conveyed a proportional lack of intimidation. "The door seems pretty wide to me." She knocked into him as she passed but he didn't lose his footing, or even watch her leave.

"Hey!" Miranda took a step to follow.

Garrus held her back with his hand. "I don't see this conversation making a difference to her one way or another." He scanned the faces of his companions. They looked at the walls, the floors, each other, every direction except toward him. "As for the rest of you, I know you were expecting to chat with me alone, but I think it's important that we talk about what's been going on of late.  _All_ of us."

Miranda nodded, her hands on her hips. "All right, people, let's move to the briefing room. Let's go." No one moved. Garrus gave her a sidelong glance. She gritted her teeth. "Please."

One by one the would-be conspirators filed behind Miranda through the hatch to the conference room. Soon, only Tali and Garrus were left behind. Her arms were crossed again, not having taken a step, and her voice lacked any trace of warmth or friendship. "You told her."

"Yep," Garrus said with a curt nod, but not without regret. He had been at odds with the others plenty of times, but never with Tali. Somehow they always ended up on the same side. He wondered briefly if she'd ever trust him again. Neither of them took kindly to betrayal, even if there was a good reason for it. He held the hatch open and stood aside just like he had done earlier for Miranda.

Tali walked past without saying a word.


	5. Both Sides of the Story

Twenty minutes before escorting Miranda into the lab, Garrus's biggest problem of the day continued to be the ship's temperamental targeting system. A call from Tali rapidly changed that.

_"Hey Garrus, what are you up to?"_

"Oh, the usual," he said. "Calibrations and more calibrations. What's up?"

 _"I'm with Mordin in the lab,"_  Tali said.  _"Could you come up here for a minute? I want to go over what we were talking about this morning with the rest of the team."_

Garrus could hear the other members of the squad murmuring to each other in the background. "Has something changed?"

_"Well, we've got an idea on how to, ah, resolve our mutual problem. Permanently."_

"Do I want to know?" Garrus asked hesitantly.

 _"Well, you kind of need to,"_  Tali said.  _"You're a vital part of the plan."_

Garrus was about to ask for specifics, but knowing that the channel was monitored, he didn't press. "All right," he replied. "I need to wrap up some things here. I'll be there in a few minutes."

 _"Thanks, Garrus!"_  Tali sounded excited and more than a little nervous.  _"Bye."_

Garrus leaned over his console in the forward battery, head lowered in thought. He hoped his promise to talk with Miranda would have been enough to ease tensions, but apparently Tali and Mordin decided they couldn't wait. They'd assembled the others in the lab, where Mordin had gone to great lengths to make sure that even EDI wouldn't be able to overhear their conversation. He had no doubts about what they were wanting to discuss.

In any gathering against a common enemy, small individual amplified against one other, snowballing into something destructive. What made Garrus especially uneasy was that the meeting was happening in secret, without an objective authority present to keep tempers and personalities in check. That's how bad decisions were born and rash plans put into action. They just wanted to talk for now, but how long would it be before someone suggested more extreme action?

The situation with the Cerberus crew didn't help, either. While Garrus enjoyed their efforts to make him feel like a part of the team, more and more they were turning to him instead of their superiors to get things done. It was mostly harmless, minor requests for shift changes and the like, and he was happy to use his close proximity to Shepard to expedite a solution. But just that morning, Jacob took it to the next level. He and the the shuttle pilot dropped by the Battery specifically to get around a decision that had already been made by Miranda, their de facto commander. While he sympathized and wanted to help out, Miranda turned Rolston down to safeguard the mission. All he could say was that he would look into it.

According to the clock on his console, Shepard wouldn't be back for another twenty-two hours at least. A lot could happen in the mean time. He opened a messenger window to Miranda.  _May I drop by? I've got something urgent to discuss._

The reply was almost instantaneous:  _Sure. Come on in._

 _Be right there,_  Garrus typed, locked his terminal and headed for the door.

The hatch to Miranda's office opened as Garrus approached. Miranda sat behind her desk, examining her datapad. She was talking to someone over the comm link but waved him in anyway. He looked about the room while she concluded her business.

"We need to fast-track this one," Miranda said. "Time is of the essence."

 _"Right,"_  said a male voice, human, that Garrus did not recognize.  _"Let me see what our options are."_

"Thank you," Miranda said.

There was a pause from the other end of the line. Garrus wandered toward the giant porthole in the outer hull, but his eyes fell on the giant Cerberus logo painted on the wall of the sitting area. He watched the operative from the corner of his eye as she continued to tap on her datapad, her expression full of concentration as she did three things at once, oblivious to Garrus's scrutiny. She swiped her free hand across a secondary screen and tallied a column of data while she waited for the voice to come back. She didn't have to wait long. 

 _"_ _Okay, done,"_  the unknown contact said. _"They're set up with bereavement passage for a family emergency. New Canton to Arcturus. From there, direct to Earth. Should be home inside of eighteen hours."_

"Perfect," Miranda nodded to herself. "Route it through operations in San Francisco so it has all of the proper headers. I appreciate you pushing this through for me." Miranda disconnected the call, deactivated her monitors and swiveled her chair to face Garrus. "Sorry about that. What can I do for you?"

Rolston, Garrus realized. She was helping him after all. "I appreciate you seeing me on short notice." 

"Not at all. You're only my fifth interruption this morning." Miranda tilted her head. "But you're also the only person on this ship who never wastes my time. What's on your mind?"

Garrus stepped back to Miranda's desk. As a proponent of the direct approach himself, he responded in kind. "Some of the crew are unhappy with how you are running things in Shepard's absence. I think they're going to push to have you replaced as executive officer."

Miranda blinked, mulling his words over for a few moments. "I see. You believe there is a mutiny in the works?"

"I don't know if I'd call it that. They are not united against the Commander, nor are they planning any violence that I am aware of. Their main point of contention is you."

Miranda leaned back in her chair, unfazed. "And who's spearheading this effort? Zorah? Solus?"

"Oh, the whos aren't important. I think we should focus on the whys."

"Zorah then. Your friend is a competent engineer, but she's quite emotional, isn't she?"

"She is indeed. But that's not the issue here."

"It certainly is," Miranda's tone was more bemused than angry. "She doesn't like taking orders, especially from me. And I'll have her head on a pike if she keeps interfering with shipboard operations."

"I feel compelled to point out that in the entire time I have known her, she has never disobeyed an order from a superior. In fact, she often tries too hard to please."

"I bet she's good at pleasing her superiors. How else could she have made Chief Engineer so quickly?"

Garrus crossed his arms. The drop of admiration he'd felt for Miranda for looking out for her crew instantly evaporated. "I don't care for personal insults when discussing ship matters. It's not constructive."

"Especially not when we're talking about a friend of yours," Miranda said, her eyebrows raised. "Or do you leap to defend my character when discussing 'ship matters' with Miss Zorah?"

Garrus looked down at the desk. The fact was he never gave a second thought when one of the squad disparaged Miranda behind her back. He never participated, but then he never discouraged it, either. The crew certainly never did it when Shepard was around. "You have a point."

"That's too bad. I thought you and I shared some kind of basic understanding. I guess I was wrong."

"I understand you perfectly," Garrus said. "I just don't see much reciprocity on your part."

"It's not my job to be friends with these people," Miranda scowled. "I'm here to keep things running as smoothly as possible. Sometimes that means being the bad guy." She leaned forward. "Zorah went to you after our conversation this morning. Did she bother to explain what happened?"

Garrus nodded. "She said you placed her assistants on restricted duty for making unauthorized modifications to the ship."

"That's correct. Did she tell you why?"

"She was of the opinion that it's because she reports to Shepard and you can't punish her directly."

"That is  _incorrect_ ," Miranda shook her head and picked up her datapad once again. She punched up her report on the ship's drive core and held it out for Garrus to see. "Though rest assured I will show this to the Commander as well when he returns so he can take appropriate measures."

"That's the problem. She thinks you waited until he was off the ship before taking action."

"Of course she does, because that's how I work, right?" Miranda said, irritated. "Read it. It's all in there."

Garrus took the datapad and scrolled through the report. Much of it was technical in nature but it was well researched and thorough. He sighed upon reading its conclusion. "Did you show this to Tali?"

"I tried, but she wouldn't have it. Evidently, she felt it more effective to throw a tantrum. I was starting to wonder if this was standard operating procedure for the original  _Normandy_  crew."

"You've never been in command before, have you, Miss Lawson?" Garrus set the datapad neatly on her desk.

"I've headed up more operations in my time with Cerberus than most people will in a lifetime," Miranda said with more than a hint of pride. "I've been responsible for billions of credits in assets across the entire-"

"That wasn't my question. No doubt you've got an impressive resume. But there's a difference between being in charge of people, and being in command."

"I see. Considering how you came to be on this vessel, are you really a position to lecture  _me_  about leadership?"

Garrus scowled, his silver eyes flashed in their dark sockets as he stared directly into hers. He, too, was well practiced at pinpointing vulnerabilities in his targets. "It doesn't matter how right you are if no one respects you enough to listen."

Miranda could not have been more surprised if he had reached out and slapped her across the face. They stared at one another for a few seconds before Garrus turned towards the door. "I'll let you get back to work. Thanks for your time."

"Vakarian," Miranda called after him. "Wait."

Garrus turned back in the open hatch, his mandibles flared in expectation.

Miranda prided herself on her ability to read people of every species, but the turian was a complete mystery. He hadn't threatened her with going over her head to Shepard, demanded an apology, or even tried and change her mind. He didn't even seem to be interested in taking her position, even though he was the obvious choice to replace her. There was absolutely nothing for him to gain by confiding in her, and everything to lose by tipping her off. "Why did you come to me with this?"

"I needed to hear your side of the story."

Miranda stared at the top of her neatly arranged desk. "Thank you."

Garrus looked down the corridor towards the main lift, then back at the human, surrounded by dark screens and inactive interfaces. She made no attempt to reactivate them. Isolated like that, all of her considerable talents were useless. "Miranda?"

"Yes?"

"If you have a minute, grab your datapad and take a walk with me."

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Where are we going?"

"I'm not sure what the exact human phrase is," Garrus said as Miranda caught up to him, "but I think it's along the lines of 'into the predator's den.'"


	6. Betrayals

The squad filed into the briefing room and worked their way around the conference table in the middle. They eschewed traditional positions as they filtered to the end away from the door, farthest from were Miranda stood at the console. She watched them pass silently as she keyed the intercom. "Jacob, could you join us in the briefing room?"

_"Be right there,"_  came the reply.

Tali and Garrus were the last to enter from the lab. The quarian joined the ranks at the far end, shaking her head at her comrades as she approached. They all regarded her with uneasy glances as she stopped at the corner and stood rigidly with her arms crossed in front of her.

Miranda glanced to the side, expecting to see Garrus follow, but instead he stood next to her, arms similarly folded across his chest, eyes scanning the faces of the crew opposite. Tali and Mordin stood defiant, ready to face the fire. Thane, Samara, Joker and the Doctor held more stoic expressions, while Zaeed leaned against the far wall wearing a rather bored expression.

The hatch to the armory hissed open and Jacob walked through. Even though he was still annoyed with her for the way she dismissed him that morning, he took his place next to Miranda. Garrus, oddly, was standing on her left, while the rest of the team was all lined up around the opposite end of the table. No one was talking or smiling, even amongst themselves. Jacob knew this would be no ordinary briefing. "What's going on?"

Both Garrus and Miranda opened their mouths to speak, but Miranda was quicker. "We're going to clear up some confusion about the chain of command on this ship."

"Oh, there's no confusion," Tali interjected calmly from her end of the table, watching Garrus the whole time. "We report to Commander Shepard. Not you, not anyone else. Isn't that right Garrus?"

The turian stared back his friend. He'd always encouraged her to speak up for herself, and any other time he would have been proud of her. But now she was deliberately casting sparks around the floor when it was soaked with incinerator fuel. The problem was, when she got in such a mood, her tenacity blinded her to the fact she would burn up with her opponents.

"Don't look at me like that," Tali said. "If you're not going to speak for us, I will. You forced the issue by bringing her into this. We're going to see it through."

The others in the room, particularly Joker and Chakwas, watched with worried expressions. With such a cross section of conflicting cultures and viewpoints, someone was always butting heads with another squad member. But Garrus and Tali never exchanged anything harsher than friendly teasing. Their air of unity was a welcome stabilizer that kept the others in check, especially when Shepard was absent. Now, that bulwark was cracking before them.

Miranda struggled to keep her own voice as restrained. "That's precisely our intention here, Tali."

_"Tali_  now?" the quarian repeated. "You can keep calling me 'Miss Zorah.'"

Garrus closed his eyes. "Okay, let's keep this civil. Tali, you and Mordin wanted to discuss the command structure on the ship. I can't begin to explain how important it is we do just that. Like it or not, Miranda - and Jacob - are a part of that structure. They need to be part of the discussion as well."

"They work for Cerberus," Tali pointed at the two humans standing next to Garrus. "Not for Shepard."

"C'mon, that's not fair," Jacob replied. "Shepard's the skipper. Period. He gives an order, we follow it. End of story. You act like we're all waiting to put a knife in his back."

Miranda put an arm out in front of him. "I'll handle this, Jacob."

"No, I want to hear," Tali said. "I want to know how loyal you will be when your Illusive Man orders you to eliminate Shepard when he's through being of use to you."

Jacob scowled. "Tali, you don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"Don't I? Maybe you don't know." Tali turned to the recruits at her end of the table. "Those of us who were on the  _Normandy_ , the  _real_   _Normandy_  know plenty. We saw first hand what Cerberus is capable of. Unspeakable cruelty. Unbelievable treachery. The rumors you've heard don't do justice to the truth." She looked at her two human friends who wore the uniform of her enemy. "Do I know what I'm talking about? Joker? Doctor Chakwas? You performed the autopsy on Admiral Kahoku did you not?"

Chakwas looked down at the floor and nodded."Yes. I did. And on the others. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself."

Joker glanced across the table to see Jacob and Miranda glaring at him. He adjusted his ball cap and cleared his throat. "I think I'd like to talk to my lawyer before answering any questions."

Tali turned her gaze back to Garrus. "How many Cerberus agents do you think you've killed?"

"Personally?" Garrus thought for a moment. "Sixteen, between Binthu and Nepheron. Shared with the rest of the squad, I'd estimate we're responsible for perhaps sixty or seventy deaths in their organization, assuming they were not mercenaries in Cerberus's employ."

Jacob frowned at Garrus' emotionless tally of human lives. As he told the turian in the armory that morning, he'd never heard of operations on those planets until Shepard brought them up. To hear Garrus casually throw out numbers like that made his stomach turn cold. Was it because it was an alien that pulled the trigger, he wondered? Or because of all the people on the ship, he knew Garrus Vakarian would never fire a shot that would put innocents in danger?

Miranda, on the other hand, did not blink an eye.

"And you?" Garrus asked Tali.

Tali looked down. "I don't keep count."

"Thirteen," Miranda said levelly.

"Figures you would know," Tali told the Cerberus statistician, "And I don't regret a single one. I know Garrus doesn't either."

"That much is true," Garrus confirmed.

" _Then why the hell are you standing with them now?"_  Tali yelled, her voice tinged equally with anger, disbelief, and the pain of betrayal.

Mordin, Thane and Samara all eyed Tali with surprise. Even Zaeed, leaning disinterestedly against the back wall raised an eyebrow. Joker again fidgeted with the brim of his ball cap while the doctor looked anxiously between the two friends, her chin and mouth covered by her hand, waiting for an answer as well.

But finally Garrus understood. For the other members of the crew, human and non-human alike, the difficulties in dealing with Miranda stemmed purely from her personality. But for Tali, Cerberus was an enemy as reviled as the geth. It wasn't a simple matter of tallying targets and settling scores. Cerberus had attacked her, her closest friends, and most importantly threatened the safety of the entire Migrant Fleet. That alone Tali would never forgive, or forget.

Most of the Cerberus crew, unlike Joker and Chakwas, were seemingly unaware of the dark side of the organization and the crimes for which they were responsible. Tali got along with them fine. But Miranda was the only unapologetic true believer on board... and high enough in position that she might herself have been responsible for what the old crew had seen. It wasn't an unreasonable assumption, given her close ties to the Illusive Man.

Miranda waited for Garrus to answer. When he didn't provide one, she leaned forward against the table and spoke slowly as if explaining how the world worked to a small child. "What the original  _Normandy_  encountered were mercenaries and rogue operatives acting on their own. Not Cerberus. No one aboard this ship was involved, or condones their actions. Or condemns yours. The Commander was justified in ordering their elimination. We probably would have gotten to them if you hadn't."

"Another quality of Cerberus," Tali said. "Even their own casualties mean nothing to them."

"Tali makes a pertinent point," Mordin interrupted. "Sometimes concerned about personal expendability. Cerberus known for ruthlessness, not for loyalty."

Thane nodded in agreement. "Indeed. Especially where other species are concerned."

Jacob took a step forward. "You think we'd go through all the trouble to bring you aboard just to take you out? You seriously think we're that evil?"

"Don't worry Thane," Tali said. "Only humans need worry about being fed to a thresher maw or turned into a husk. We'll probably only get a very inexpensive bullet in our sleep."

"You have no ideawhat you are talking about!" Miranda strode directly towards Tali, with Jacob close behind. Tali dropped one leg back, bracing herself for an assault, or maybe even preparing to launch one. Mordin and Thane moved behind her.

"Oh shit," Joker said as Chakwas pulled him behind the table, out of harm's way. Nearby, Zaeed, still leaning nonchalantly against the wall, slid his right hand slowly behind his back towards the waist of his trousers and watched. Only he and Samara stayed out of the fray, and though the asari did not take aggressive action, her dire expression indicated it was only one heartbeat away.

" _ENOUGH!"_ The word thundered across the room. Garrus' voice, always soft and sinuous, blared like an air horn, his chorded vocals amplifying the effect. Everyone on the room whirled to face him. He leaned forward, sharp talons splayed visibly on the table in front of him. The fringe on his head spiked outward and his mandibles protruded from behind their plates, giving the usually calm turian a decisively fearsome, predatory appearance. "This. Stops. NOW," he snarled.

Tali raised her finger to Miranda's face. "We're not going-"

"TALI!" Garrus bore down on the quarian with enough anger that the two Cerberus operatives gladly stepped out of the way. He planted himself where she stood, making her stagger back. "Enough! You wanted me in command? Then take an order from me now. Shut up and listen! All of you!" The turian's eyes swept the circle around him. "Now I don't give a varren's ass who's in charge when Shepard is off the ship as long as his orders are carried out. But I do care if he comes back to a civil war. I will not allow that! Anyone who's loyalties lie with the Commander won't either!"

All eyes had been on Garrus. Now, in unison, they shifted to one another. No one moved, no one spoke.

"Now, if anyone here still wants to fight..." Garrus's talon carved the air in front of him as he turned from side to side. "I will personally oblige you. But I guarantee we will have peace by the time the Commander returns. One way or another."

Thane straightened and walked quietly back to his corner of the table. Jacob nodded, then took a step back from Garrus. Mordin's wide mouth tightened into a thin line, but he too backed away.

Tali and Miranda continued to glare at each other, with Garrus in the middle. His fringe settled finally, and his voice resumed its normal, smooth lilt. "Ladies?"

Miranda's eyes shifted from the purple points of fire shining behind Tali's faceplate to Garrus. 'You're absolutely right." She gave Tali a parting glare, then followed Jacob back to the head of the table.

Tali, however, stayed put, her eyes burning into Miranda's back as she retreated.

Garrus could hear her raspy breaths behind her mask. "Tali," he said quietly. She looked up at him, a strange sadness in her eyes. She exhaled deeply and walked behind the table, looking down at its surface.

"All right, then," Garrus said, relieved. He hoped the others felt the same way. "Clearly, there are issues at work beyond who is in charge. I doubt anything anyone can say right now will change that. But the fact we're not breaking each others' necks now means there is at least one thing we all respect. Maybe we can build on that."

Sullen stares gave way to slight nods around the room, transforming into looks of embarrassment and discomfort as the reality of what almost happened set in. In the back of the room, Zaeed quietly shifted his weight to his other leg, his empty hands nested in his elbows in his trademark stance.

Jacob looked from Miranda to the opposite end of the table. "So what do we do now?"

"What came here to do," Garrus said. "Figure out who's in command."


	7. The Liaison

That Garrus found himself at the center of attention in the briefing room was not unusual. On the Citadel, he'd performed many briefings to comrades and superiors at C-Sec. How many times did his team on Omega nearly come to blows when opposing views put them odds with one another? But now, the stakes were much higher, and he wasn't only preserving the peace for his own sense of satisfaction. Failure would carry a price far worse than what was paid on Omega.

"There are two types of people on this ship," he gestured to Chakwas and Joker, then to Jacob. "We have the regular crew. For them, the there is no question. They fall under Cerberus authority, Miranda Lawson is the executive officer, and in command in Shepard's absence."

Garrus leaned forward against the table. "For the rest us us, it's not quite as clear cut. With the possible exception of Mister Massani, we're not obligated to follow the orders of anyone other than Commander Shepard. We're volunteers, here of our own accord, and this is the heart of the problem. Even though we are on a Cerberus vessel, we do not fall under Cerberus authority. It's even more complicated for Tali and myself, since we have active roles aboard ship. Tali especially as a Chief Engineer in direct command of engineers Donnelly and Daniels."

"It's a unique situation," Miranda said. "This is the first time we've granted aliens such extensive access to our resources, let alone recruited them. This is not a scenario for which we have adequately planned. It was an unfortunate oversight, but one I think we can correct."

Universally, postures around the room relaxed. Garrus felt the tension in his own body ease slightly. This was the sort of dialogue for which he'd hoped, and as he suspected, Miranda was willing to compromise if arguments were kept rational and in line with mission objectives. As long as clashing personalities did not once again rise to do battle, the worst was probably behind them. "Agreed. We just need a mutually acceptable solution."

"Well," Miranda straightened as she spoke. "The obvious solution is to officially incorporate you into the  _Normandy_ 's chain of command."

"You mean the Cerberus chain of command," Tali bristled. "That is  _not_  mutually acceptible."

"It would remove all question. It may be unorthodox, but we are nothing if not adaptable, assuming all of you can be flexible as well."

Garrus watched as Tali began to pace angrily back and forth again while Mordin simply sniffed deeply and shook his head. Samara was inscrutable as always, but from what he knew of the Justicar, she would sooner destroy the Cerberus ship than join its ranks. With one simple suggestion, the conflict was beginning anew. Miranda was either oblivious to how they truly felt about Cerberus, or worse, was intentionally testing their limits. Given her intelligence, he could only guess the latter.

"That's not going to happen," Garrus said calmly. "And this is the most polite rejection you are going to get on the matter."

Miranda looked at the turian, surprised. His earlier appeal for unity along with his willingness to inform her about the move against her had convinced her he was open to the idea. A ship could not function with two independent crews. Whatever his past dealings with Cerberus, Garrus had to know that their current mission and intentions were aimed for the greater good, not just for humanity, but all species. This sudden stand against her was illogical and disappointing. Perhaps she misjudged his appetite for power after all.

She still had one trump card to play. "Commander Shepard could order it."

Garrus's tone, polite and cordial, belied the menace of his words. "He could order us to kill all of you and take the ship. But that wouldn't be mutually acceptable either, would it?"

"No," Miranda said flatly. "It would not." Unquestionably, if Shepard gave the word, they would turn against the humans without hesitation, and not just because they were following orders. But Garrus? She could still not decipher him. She'd fired across his bow and he respond by exposing his broadside... and then held fire. Whatever drove the turian, he was not looking for a fight with Cerberus. He was doing everything in his power to avoid one.

Right then, Miranda realized she had completely misread him. Garrus was never trying to convince his friends to submit to Cerberus. He was as against the idea as they were. He had been looking for a compromise the whole time, from the moment he'd come to her office. He offered a truce, not surrender. Given the squad's hostility, she knew that was the only choice that would ultimately preserve the fragile alliance they had.

She cleared her throat. "That was more confrontational than I intended it to be. I apologize. It's obviously not a practical solution. Like I said, this is a situation we've not encountered before. I am open to suggestions any of you might have."

Garrus looked around the room once more. Mordin and Samara resumed a relaxed posture, and Joker and the Doctor looked positively relieved. Even Tali stopped her pacing, and though she still didn't make eye contact with the Cerberus operative, he could tell the fire burning inside her subsided slightly. The power of an apology never ceased to amaze him.

"Glad to hear it," he said. "Given everything we've been through together, it would be tragic if the conference room was our last battlefield. It's not like we can't work together. We can. We do it almost every time we set foot off the ship. Everyone here has put his or her life in the hands of someone standing opposite them, on multiple occasions. But for some reason, we can't make it work inside the hull. Why is that? So we really need to have guns pointed at our heads to get us to cooperate?"

The room fell silent, and nervous glances bounced around the table. "I think maybe a pissed off turian apparently works in a pinch," Jacob said.

Garrus smiled. "That did get everyone's attention, didn't it. I'll have to remember that."

Miranda folded her arms with a sigh. "Look, we…  _I_  misjudged how strongly all of you would feel about this, and I'm sorry. It should have been accounted for before any of you were brought on board, and it wasn't. But every vessel has to have a chain of command if it's going to function. And we do have to figure out where you fit in it, whether Commander Shepard is aboard or not. So, if you'll bear with me, I have another suggestion."

The aliens opposing her all regarded her warily, but they were paying attention. Miranda looked at Garrus. "It's not uncommon for attached units to have a liaison with the host organization. Maybe that's what we need here. Orders issued by Cerberus could be passed through this person, as could requests from our contractors coming the other way. This person would effectively be in charge of these individuals when Shepard is not available, and coordinate with Cerberus resources as needed. Does this sound reasonable to everyone?"

There was silence, then a quiet chorus of "yes," accompanied by a ripple of bobbing heads.

Miranda turned to Garrus. "I think it's obvious to everyone present that you've already been acting in that capacity. Quite ably, I might add. I don't think we'd hear any objections if you assumed the role officially."

The scowls and glares on the faces around the table disappeared, replaced with relief. The original crew, Joker, Doctor Chakwas and Tali looked particularly pleased, Tali especially as her eyes squinted behind her facemask as she smiled at her friend.

But Garrus stared down at the shiny surface of the table. When he looked back up, he saw that everyone in the room was staring at him. When his gaze met with Tali's, he quickly looked away again. "Well," he stammered, "um, I'm honored. I... accept on the condition that it meets with the Commander's approval when he returns."

"Absolutely," Miranda said. "Does this work for everyone here? Are we in agreement?"

"Yes, this is acceptable," Samara said.

"Very," Thane agreed.

"Most reasonable," Mordin added. "Happy to comply."

"Hell yeah," Jacob said. "Can't think of a better man for the job. Shoulda done this from the start."

"All right then," Miranda said. For the first time since leaving her office, she began to think of the pile of work waiting for her at her desk. It looked like she'd be able to get back to it after all. "I think we found mutually acceptable solution. Garrus? Any words of wisdom from our newly appointed liaison?"

Garrus finally look up. "Yes, actually. We seem to have possible solution for the chain of command, pending Shepard's approval of course, but I think we still need to address some underlying issues that brought us to this point. And they don't just reside on this side of the table."

The squad's relief morphed into confusion. Even Miranda now stared at Garrus with surprise as the mutually acceptable should have brought the conversation to a close.

Garrus paused to consider his next words. "Have you ever wondered why after instigating a full-on firefight in the Zakera Ward on the Citadel that we're still allowed to dock there? Or that we can freely return to Omega any time after wiping out half the cartels that own the place, without reprisal? It's astounding, really, that we can go anywhere without being arrested the instant we step off the shuttle. That's not my doing, or even Commander Shepard's. I think if he were here, he'd acknowledge that he's the biggest offender of all when it comes to leaving our mark on the galaxy."

He turned to Miranda. "It's because someone here is constantly cleaning up our messes. And we can be so very, very messy. Can't we?"

Miranda regarded Garrus with surprise at having the spotlight thrust back upon her. While almost everyone paid attention to Garrus when he spoke, they usually tuned her out as easily as the status announcements broadcast over the ship's PA. Standing there now, he was effectively lending her his voice. It was a tremendous opportunity, she knew. She spoke with a reserved, professional tone. "First, let me ask you to take none of what I say as a personal attack, nor do I mean to single out any individual. I merely intend to correct some behavior that, if left unchecked, could have serious repercussions for the success of the mission, and your own personal well being."

She waited for an objection or other sign of dissent. Everyone, even Tali'Zorah, seemed to be paying attention. "I know our security measures seem excessive. You don't trust our motives, which is understandable. There is precedent. But there is also practical necessity. Every time we move, Cerberus cleans up after us. Favors are called in, witnesses are compensated, arrest warrants rescinded. Your names are erased, your identities protected. When an official report gets filed, 'Assault by  _Normandy_  strike team' becomes 'internecine rivalry between local mercenary groups.' Our resources continuously monitor for any references to our operations and make them go away, prevent patterns from developing, keep those seeking revenge to know where we are going next. I think you'd all agree that not having to deal with Eclipse, or the Asari Commandos or even the Spectres every time we stop is a good thing. Based on property damage alone, half the galaxy would be hunting us down."

Miranda paused again. They were still listening to her. "The point being, we can clean up almost any kind of trail, prevent unfortunate incidents before they happen... provided we know about it in advance."

"Hmm," Mordin rubbed his chin. "Class four irradiation device. Extremely powerful. Possibly illegal."

Miranda hadn't planned to bring up specific examples, but as usual, Mordin was thinking two steps ahead of everyone else in the room. As with Garrus, the opportunity to explain herself was too good to pass up. "The professor is referring to the Ariake Technologies Phased Array Scanner. Only the military or research corporations are licensed to possess one. It would draw a great deal of attention from the authorities if one were delivered to our ship."

Mordin bowed his head. "Had not considered operational security. Believed research imperative. Apologies."

"Mr. Krios, Samara," Miranda didn't want to go down the list publicly, but she also didn't want to appear to be playing favorites. "I appreciate that you are both facing deeply troubling personal crises. Believe me, I understand family is important. But please refrain from making inquiries about your children via unsecure channels. That's the sort of information that could be used against you, should it fall into enemy hands. If it's an emergency, please request access to our secure network."

"Or pass them along through me," Garrus said, "If you are uncomfortable with current arrangements. We'll figure out some way of getting the information you need."

The drell and asari both nodded. "That would be acceptable," Thane said.

"Indeed," Samara nodded. "Thank you, Garrus."

Miranda looked down at her datapad. Garrus and Zaeed both followed protocol to the letter since coming on board. That left only one offender to deal with, over the issue that started this whole rotten mess. Strangely, the quarian's urge to fight had disappeared altogether. "Miss Zorah, you and your staff did excellent work on increasing ME output in the main drive. However, your actions changed the amplitude and frequency of almost every emission from the core."

Tali's eyes darted from Miranda to Garrus, then back. "It's a natural side effect of redirecting wasted energy. The ship's baffles keeps emissions from being detected. I triple checked it, it doesn't register outside the hull."

"It does," Miranda walked toward Tali and offered her the datapad. This time, the engineer took it. "But it changed how our ship interacts with mass relays. Our signature is routinely scrubbed from the secure networks which track mass relay traffic. Our cleanup algorithms have been searching for the old signature and not the new one... meaning we have been leaving a trail. I received word of it from one of our analysts this morning."

Tali scrolled through the report as Miranda talked. She muttered something under her breath, muffled by her mask and not caught by her translator. "It never occurred to me that anyone would be watching the relays."

Instead of the usual, haughty smirk, Miranda shrugged. "It took our best analysts three days to see it. It wasn't obvious to anyone, even me. But it's taken care of. I've passed along the updated signature, and it doesn't appear that anyone else noticed either."

Tali nodded, still reading the report. "Ken and Gabby," she said quietly. "They were acting on my orders. It was my fault. I would appreciate it if... you could lift their restrictions. They should not be punished for doing what I told them to do."

"I'm afraid their punishment stands," Miranda shook her head. "Regardless of who ordered it, they knew better. Had they followed protocol and sent your proposed changes through proper channels, we would have been alerted to the change in signature before it became an issue. But you are the Chief Engineer, as appointed by Commander Shepard. I should have come to you with it first. I'm sorry."

Tali handed the datapad back to her.

Garrus watched Miranda return to the head of the table. The gentle whoosh of the ship's ventilation system filled the compartment. "Well then... I think we've said everything that needed to be said. Does anybody have any questions? Concerns? Comments? No one? Well, if you do, or you just want to discuss the matter further in private, you know where to find me. Miranda?"

"My door will be open the remainder of the day," Miranda said. "To all of you. Are there any questions?"

Zaeed finally broke the ensuing silence. "We still on for 1600?"

"We are," Miranda replied. "In my office."

"Fantastic," Zaeed walked to the door. "I have some time to catch up on my beauty rest."

One by one, the rest of the squad filed out behind the mercenary. Tali brought up the rear, arms crossed and looking at the floor. "We still friends?" Garrus asked as she passed.

Tali looked up with surprise. She started to say something, but after a quick glance at Miranda she changed her mind. "We'll talk later," she said, and walked out the door, leaving only Miranda, Jacob and Garrus in the briefing room.

"I tell you," Jacob said to Garrus. "If I'm ever stuck in a minefield, I'm calling you to come get me out."

Garrus stared through the open hatch at Tali's retreating form, already dreading their upcoming  _later_  talk. "I'd be happy if we could avoid taking any more strolls in the minefield for the time being." He thought for a moment. "By the way, Miranda, earlier today Jacob showed me an experimental rifle scope. How would I go about requisitioning one?"

Miranda stepped toward the computer console built into the head of the table and pressed a few keys. She quickly scanned through a list of restrictions and distribution limits. "You just did. Jacob, can you set him up? I think he'd make excellent use of it."

Jacob let out a short breath. He'd forgotten about the work he'd already done on the turian's weapon without approval. "Uh, yeah, Miranda. No problem. I think that's a good idea."

Garrus gave him a knowing nod. "Maybe we ought to hook Thane up with one as well."

"Do it," Miranda said. She turned to face Garrus. "Right, then. I think we're done here. See you at 1600?"

"I'll be there," Garrus said as he exited to the corridor.

"Later," Jacob said, turning back to Miranda once they were alone. "What the hell was that? You couldn't even say 'thank you'?"

"Drop it, Jacob," Miranda walked away. "I'm not in the mood." The briefing room door hissed shut in Miranda's face as she approached. She turned on her heel, anger in her eyes.

Jacob was leaning against the briefing room table, his finger on the door control. "Garrus settled things on their side of the fence. Now we're going to settle ours."


	8. Hero Worship

The briefing room's lock panel glowed red behind Miranda's back. She could easily override the lockout herself, but after the near-rebellion by the members of Shepard's squad, she wasn't about to tolerate insubordination from her own crew. "Open the door."

Jacob still leaned against the table, making no move to unlock the hatch. "I tried to tell you this morning what was about to go down and you shut me out. You're gonna listen to me this time."

"I swear to god, Jacob-"

"Did you not see what just happened? We were getting ready to throw down in here for real. The whole mission could have gone up in flames and you're acting like it's no big deal."

"It wasn't," Miranda always hated how after a tense situation was resolved that people felt the need to exaggerate the danger they faced. "There were some negative feelings on both sides that needed to be expressed. We took care of it."

 _"We_ took care of it? I got news for you, Miranda. 'We' didn't do shit. That man who just walked out of here kept it all from coming apart. You were two seconds away from cracking skulls."

Miranda shook her head and reached out to the table panel.

Jacob grabbed her wrist before she could connect. "I know, because I was right behind you. Just like always."

They glared at one another for a few seconds before Jacob let go of her wrist and tapped the button himself. The door panel flashed green, and the hatch opened to the hallway.

It had been a long time since she'd looked into his eyes, Miranda thought. It used to happen all the time, but not any more. That kind of personal connection just didn't exist for her anymore. Jacob was right about one thing, though. Regardless of what happened between them, he'd always supported her in any circumstance. He never made a big show of it, so it was sometimes easy to forget. But like with Garrus, she couldn't figure out what was driving Jacob now.

"Dramatics don't suit you," she told him, glancing over her shoulder to the now-open door. "What's your point?"

"I've always had your back. Even when I didn't always know all the details, I followed your lead."

"That's because you know I'm always right," Miranda folded her arms in front of her.

Jacob sighed. "Sure. You know the angles, I'll give you that. But your people skills have always pretty much sucked ass."

Miranda's expression left no uncertainty that Jacob's next sentence had better contain an apology.

"I wish I had a mirror," Jacob said. "So you could see that look you're giving me right now. It's easy to give someone wearing the uniform an order, because if we don't follow it, we're done. There are consequences, and we know it. But that doesn't work on Shepard's guys, does it? So let me ask you something. Did you ask Garrus for help, or did he step up on his own to smooth over thing with the squad?"

"I don't see what this has to do with anything."

"Did you ask him to come in here and talk to Shepard's people," Jacob repeated loudly, "or did he drag you in here? Answer the question."

Miranda tilted her head, her hands on her hips. The truth was, had Garrus not come to her, she would have had no idea about the plot against her - nor had an ally to stop it. What would have happened? Would the squad have made an appeal to Shepard to replace her, or acted on their own before he returned? A mutiny would have ended badly for everyone, she knew, but it was the first situation that scared her the most.

What if Shepard had listened to his people and asked the the Illusive Man to replace her? On the one hand, she was the eyes and ears of Cerberus on the ship, and one of the Illusive Man's most trusted operatives. But several times since Shepard's rebirth, he overruled any decision that went against Shepard's wishes. Would that have included kicking her off the ship?

Jacob shook his head at Miranda's silence. "You're so preoccupied with being perfect that you can't ever ask anyone for help. And when someone does, you treat 'em like shit. If you were drowning, you'd punch the lifeguard for saving you."

"Clever. But you're just being dramatic again."

"It's the truth, even if you won't admit it. Garrus just saved our asses, and you couldn't even say thank you."

"Let me ask you something," Miranda shot back.

"Okay, here it comes." Jacob smiled humorlessly. "This is where you turn it back on me, right?"

"Exactly," Miranda said, annoyed that Jacob pretended he could predict her motivations. "Why are you trying so hard to win their approval?"

"Whose?"

"Them," she nodded towards the door. "The aliens."

"Don't change the subject. We're not talking about me, Miranda."

"I'm serious," Miranda said. "Ever since they came on board. Especially Vakarian and Zorah. I've seen how you try to pal around with Vakarian. Trying to lay your best 'bro' rap on him. It's cute in an interspecies-peace-commune sort of way, but he's not buying it. And Zorah? You're always being so polite even though she clearly wants nothing to do with you. She'd spit in your face if she were capable. Still trying to make up for that little _faux paux_  when she came aboard? That was brilliant, by the way, telling a quarian to cozy up with an AI. It really set the tone, didn't it?"

"She was going to be running engineering," Jacob said, "so she was going to have to talk to EDI sooner or later. Excuse the hell out of me for trying to keep EDI from being a surprise. For the record, Tali told Shepard she wanted to frag us before I said two words to her. And I say  _us_  and not  _me,_ because she wanted to kill you too, in case you hadn't noticed. But again, we're not talking about me here."

"Mmm-hmm. Or, you're kissing the asses of Shepard's closest friends in order to improve your own standing. That would at least make sense, but it's not your style, is it? So what's really going on here?"

"Okay, you want to get into this? Fine." Jacob rose to his feet and stood face to face with her. "You tell me. How many times have you saved the entire galaxy, huh? You're big on talking up how Cerberus elevates humanity, but what have we really done, and I mean Cerberus as a whole? Put it all on the scale. More good than harm, you think? Sometimes I wonder."

He began to pace. "Now, look at Garrus and Tali. They've actually done it, saved the galaxy. Two years ago, they saved every human in existence, from New Jersey to Arcturus to clear out in the Terminus Systems. Now you could say they did it to save their own species, sure. Or maybe they were just saving themselves. But you know what really gets me? They came back. Shepard asked for their help, and here they are again, putting their lives on the line, even though this time it  _is_  just humanity on the chopping block. So yeah, maybe I do think they deserve to have their asses polished a little, by all of us. Because they're going above and beyond, for the second time, for everybody."

Miranda's first impulse was a slow clap for such a bravura performance, but they had been together long enough that she knew he meant every word, and he was right. Garrus and Tali were two of a handful of people alive who could truthfully say they saved the entire galaxy. They saw first hand what annihilation looked like and willingly came back to Shepard's side to face it again. Would she be able to do the same once this mission was over? "I guess if you look at it that way, we're lucky to have them."

"Damn straight. Wouldn't hurt for them to hear it more often, either."

"Probably not," Miranda said. From Jacob's expression, she could tell Garrus and Tali weren't the only ones feeling unappreciated. "It's difficult to work for someone who doesn't respect the effort."

Jacob grunted softly. "It sucks, let me tell ya."

A quiet beeping interrupted the ensuing awkward silence. Miranda checked her watch and straightened her posture with a sigh. It was time to clean up another mess left in  _Normandy_ 's wake. "I've got to go. I've got a call in five minutes."

"Saved by the bell, huh?" Jacob moved aside, but caught her as she passed. "Hey."

Miranda stopped in the hatch. Jacob wasn't the sentimental type but sometimes let his softer side show through, and maybe it was time she did too.

But Jacob's eyes were cold, accusatory. "Binthu and Nepheron. What went down there?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"Is it true?"

Miranda turned back to the corridor. "That's above your pay grade."

"How did you know how many Cerberus operatives Tali killed?"

The senior Cerberus operative paused, uncharacteristically having to search for an answer. "It's my job to know," she said, and walked out the door.


	9. Second

"All right, gentlemen. Thank you for your input." Miranda closed her notes and checked the time. 16:53. Seven minutes to spare. "Please review your tasks and let's meet again at the same time tomorrow to look over any fresh data and finalize the operation with Commander Shepard."

Zaeed stood up from the couch adjacent to Miranda's office and stretched. "I'm sure it'll be the highlight of my day," he grumbled and walked out the door.

Garrus, still seated, deactivated his tactical visor and watched Zaeed go. As usual, the bounty hunter did not engage in any small talk or even say goodbye. But he was a font of information, and shared it freely. Even though he had been ousted from the Suns decades ago, he still knew exactly how they worked. _That's the trouble with Vido,_ Zaeed told them. _No imagination. Nothing's changed except the bottom line.  
_

"Very interesting to hear things from his perspective," Garrus said. "Other than my team on Omega, my personal experience with mercenaries has mostly been through a targeting reticle."

Miranda deactivated the holographic image on the short table between them. The thin blue outline of a bunker schematic faded into the air. It had been a very productive meeting, indeed. "That's why we brought him along. That, and his sunny disposition."

"He knows his stuff. I'll take good intel over sunshine any day." Garrus stood and tipped his datapad toward her. "I'll have my assessment to you before Shepard gets back tomorrow."

"Very well," Miranda looked up at the turian. Throughout the entire meeting, there was no mention the earlier tensions or give any indication they were on his mind at all. Everything she'd seen of Garrus, from settling the argument in the briefing room to his entire stint on Omega, indicated he didn't do anything for accolades or out of a desire for approval. He just didn't need them. So if the troubles weren't important enough for him to mention, why should she?

She thought back to her conversation with Jacob. Without prompting, Garrus had saved the mission, her career, and possibly her life. Maybe she shouldn't require prompting either. She cleared her throat. "Could I have another moment of your time, please?"

"Of course." Garrus sat back on the couch across from the human and powered up his datapad to take notes.

"No, nothing official," Miranda held up a hand. "I just wanted to thank you for everything you did today. And apologize."

Garrus cocked his head. "For what?"

 _So he's going to make you say it,_ Miranda thought. "Well, I'm not the easiest person to get on with, am I?"

Garrus sat forward, his arms on his knees, thinking. "No," he said, "But you provide a necessary balance. Regardless of what they think of you personally, I think they- _we_ \- have more appreciation for what you do for us. And that's a good start."

Miranda nodded. Ordinarily, pride would have dictated she respond that he was only stating the obvious. But after the events of the day, maybe it was time to tone it down. "It couldn't have happened without you."

"Oh, it was nothing." Garrus inspected a talon on his left hand for imperfections, front and back, and found none. "I was just being indispensable, as usual."

Miranda laughed out loud. It was the first time Garrus had seen the human show genuine amusement. "Well, if it happens again, you have my vote for XO. The job is yours."

Garrus shook his head and rose to his feet. "No thank you. I _detest_ paperwork. Speaking of which, I should probably let you get back to it. Our hour is almost up."

"That it is," Miranda said, still smiling. She looked down at the table. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Of course."

"Do you think I'm a bitch?" Miranda eyed the turian curiously.

Garrus paused. Apparently, Tali's paranoia about being overheard in her quarters was not entirely unfounded. Or was it just coincidence? Miranda's expression and posture all conspired to keep the truth obscured. Either way, it might be fun to watch Tali tear her room apart. He'd give that more thought after he and the engineer had settled their own personal rift. He gave Miranda a slight nod. "Only when you want to be. Good day, Miss Lawson."

Miranda returned the gesture in kind. "Good day, Mister Vakarian."

After he left, Miranda let out a long, heavy sigh. Even with her enhanced physiology, she was drained. But all things considered, the ship was in a much better state than it had been at the start of the day. The situation was still not perfect, but in this case, she was willing to accept "good enough" for now.

She got up and returned to the digital fortress of her desk. A dozen new email messages and vid calls were waiting for her. She scanned through the subject lines. For once, she found no crises or disasters among them. She selected the first on the list, but stopped as her eyes fell on the one unread message in her personal folder.

She took a deep breath. _You never ask for help, even when you need it,_ Jacob told her. Miranda tapped open the folder and began to read. Ordinarily, she enjoyed Niket's lengthy letters, as sentimental and overwrought as they tended to be. Lately, he was all business. And there was no avoiding the fact she was going to have to ask for help sooner than she ever thought.

Maybe today, she would let herself do it.

* * *

"Making unauthorized modifications to the ship?" Tali's voice echoed through the Forward Battery. "I hope you notified the liaison first."

Garrus sat up inside an open panel in the deck astride a large cable trunk that ran underneath. He glanced over his shoulder to see Tali leaning over the railing of the control platform overlooking the compartment. She gave a small wave. He adjusted the EM analyzer on his visor and leaned back into the flooring. "I'm not so sure I can trust him. I think he may be a Cerberus sympathizer."

Tali laughed but stopped when Garrus threw himself back in his work. Her joke had obviously fallen flat. She waited a moment, then addressed the turian's hunched over back. "Uh, you had dinner, yet?"

"Not yet. I'll get something later."

"Oh... Okay."

Garrus ran an induction probe the length of the conduit to check for interference, but he paid no attention to the readout. He could feel Tali's eyes on him. She obviously wasn't going to leave until she said her peace, and even though he practiced in his mind over and over how he would explain his actions, he just didn't have the energy to do it. Or maybe he just didn't want to deal with the inevitable backlash. It was only a matter of time before Tali worked herself into a fit, and he would have to talk her down again.

To his surprise, Tali's voice conveyed nothing but sorrow. "Garrus, I'm sorry." She stood straight now, rubbing her hands slowly in front of her. "The last thing I wanted to do was to... make things difficult for you. I mean, I didn't... Dammit."

Garrus deactivated his visor and climbed slowly to his feet. She wasn't looking for a fight after all. He stepped over to the base of the control deck and rested his arms on the platform as she sat at its edge, her legs dangling over side. The hum of the ship echoed throughout the chamber.

Tali still held onto the rail above so she wouldn't have to look him in the eye. "You know, when I first came aboard, I was scared to death. My entire team had just been wiped out, Shepard was back from the dead and commanding a Cerberus ship, right after they had attacked our fleet and, well... I didn't know what to think." Her voice trailed off as she tried to shake away the memory. "I was in a bad place. But then I saw you were here, and knew everything was going to be okay. Even when I thought I couldn't trust Shepard, I knew I could trust you. You're always so damn calm and logical. I always hated that about you, you know. Just once, I'd like to see _something_ get to you."

Garrus smiled but said nothing.

Tali sighed. "You don't know how much that helped me, how much I needed that after Haestrom, after coming aboard and seeing Shepard in their uniform. So when you walked in with Miranda today, I... just lost it. I mean, I know you'd never do anything to betray us. But..."

"It had to be done," Garrus said softly. Feeling that Tali had lost confidence in him hit harder than he would allow himself to show. "Things were getting out of control."

Tali looked way, holding her palm up to Garrus. "I know. I know. You did the right thing. You always do. I overreacted. You know how I get sometimes."

Garrus shrugged. She'd basically said everything he wanted to tell her. Whether she knew it or not, she had grown a lot in the two years they had been apart, and even during their current stint aboard the new _Normandy_. "Given the circumstances, it wasn't entirely unwarranted."

"It was this time. I'm sorry I put you in this position."

All the bitterness and spite Garrus had been saving up to blunt Tali's presumed tongue-lashing dissolved away. As much as she had erred in questioning his loyalty when siding with Miranda, he knew her well enough that in spite of her temper, she was one of his most dedicated friends. _You should have gone to see her,_ he thought. _This has probably been eating at her all day._ He patted Tali's thigh. "It's okay. It was a strange day all the way around, wasn't it?"

Tali sniffed again and gave him the same odd look as the briefing room. He'd assumed it was anger, but she wasn't mad at all. "'Strange.' You always go for the understatement. Keelah, that drives me crazy. It's just that... Dammit, I knew I'd mess this up. There's no easy way to say it. I didn't know."

"Know what?"

"That you don't want to be the XO."

"Come on," Garrus scowled. "Didn't we just settle this?"

"I don't mean today," Tali said. "From the start. When I first came aboard, Shepard made me chief engineer on the spot, instantly. He wanted people he trusted in key positions. Miranda argued with him for days afterward. And he just gave her that little smile of his and told her to deal with it. She's never let that go."

"I don't think Miranda holds grudges like that," Garrus said. "She's really not against us, you know."

"This isn't about her. Let me finish. So here I am, a quarian on a Cerberus ship, and Shepard makes me Chief Engineer in spite of all their objections. You'd been aboard for months, but were only the gunnery officer. I remember thinking how strange that was. There's no one he trusts more than you. No one. How could you not be his second in command?"

Garrus lowered his chin onto his arms and stared at the deck in front of him.

Tali took a deep breath. "So I asked him about it one day. Why did he choose Miranda over you? I asked if it was because of what happened on Omega. He got angry. Shepard _never_ gets angry. He said that was 'horseshit' and that there was no one in the galaxy who he'd rather have as his XO. But all would tell me was that it wasn't his call."

Garrus closed his eyes and sighed.

Tali watched him sadly. "I'd always assumed that Cerberus gave him no choice, that they had decided for him. But when Miranda asked you to be liaison today, your reaction... I finally understood. It's the same reason Dr. Chakwas has been 'too busy' to heal your face, isn't it? And why Jacob's always been 'too busy' to repair your armor the entire time you've been here."

She tried to make eye contact, but Garrus looked away toward the wall. She slid from the platform to stand next to him. "Garrus, I thought you wanted it. I was trying to help, and I thought this was your chance... I never would have done this to you I had known. I'm so sorry." She put her hand on his shoulder. "You think it's your fault, but it wasn't."

"Whose fault was it, then?" Garrus asked, still unable to look at Tali.

"As their leader you were _responsible,_ " Tali said. "But you aren't to blame. There's a big difference. You don't trust yourself after what happened, I know. But Shepard does. We all do, even Miranda. I think we proved that today."

Garrus deflated with a massive exhalation, his talons clenched tightly into his palms. Tali gave his shoulder a final pat as she hoisted herself back to the control platform. If he didn't want to talk, she wasn't going to push him. She walked to the hatch, clearing her throat and stifling back tears. _You got your wish,_ she thought. _Something got to him. And you threw it right in his face._

"Tali?"

The quarian almost tripped over her feet as she whirled back around to face her friend. "Yes? What?"

He looked up her with weary eyes. "It's important that everyone believes Miranda was always Shepard's first choice."

Tali nodded. That had to be enough of a response as her voice would certainly crack if she tried to speak. The hatch sealed shut behind her as she walked out.

Garrus took a deep breath and reactivated his tactical visor. The schematics for the fire control system blossomed into view. The upgrade was supposed to be done before Shepard return to the ship.

That, at least, was a promise Garrus could keep.


	10. Still Friends

Tali slumped against the closed hatch to the forward battery. How could she have been so wrong about everything? Garrus only wanted to unite the crew and she unknowingly sabotaged his every effort. Worse, he had been desperately avoiding any command position to the point of refusing Shepard's offer to make him XO, which probably made Garrus feel even worse than he already did... and she practically trapped him into being the liaison. Somehow she found a way to both undermine a close friend while at the same time re-opening his deepest wounds.

She picked herself up and walked past the sleeping pods and down the steps to the ship's galley. The human mess officer watched her pass from behind the serving table with a confused expression.

"He's not coming out of his hole, huh?" Gardner asked. He looked down at a serving tray loaded with stripped meat and freshly steamed vegetables. "You want me to put this away for you?"

Tali stopped as his words finally penetrated the tangle of thoughts in her head. She had forgotten about the meal she had prepared for Garrus. "What? Oh, no. He's... busy. Working on some upgrades." She stepped around the table. "Don't worry about it. I'll get it. He can eat it later. Thank you."

"Well it was nice of you to put it together for him," Gardner said. The two dextros aboard the ship made frequent use of the galley to prepare their own meals, and he was happy to oblige them. But he'd never seen the quarian prepare anything other than blended protein paste. Where she got the ingredients for a turian dish, he couldn't guess. "Is it his birthday or something?"

Tali opened a cabinet and removed several plastic storage trays. She hoped he wouldn't ask why, but the way the day was going she should have anticipated it. "He's just been working really hard lately. He doesn't always eat right."

"Well I wouldn't worry about Garrus. He's always putting in the hours. I don't think he's ever eaten on a schedule." Gardner watched Tali scoop the entrees into a plastic containers and seal them. He put on a pair of gloves and picked up a microfiber rag to wipe down the surfaces where the food had touched behind her. "I swear on this ship when the cat's away, the mice work harder."

Tali stopped in front of the refrigerator with one hand on the handle. "I'm sorry, I don't understand. Cat?"

"Oh, sorry. Human expression," the cook said as he sprayed amino-neutralizer across the counter top and polished its surface. "I meant when the boss is away, the workers work harder. Usually they play. But not you and Garrus."

Tali opened the fridge and pulled open a drawer outlined with a bright yellow-and-red hashed border. Inside, she shifted quarian and turian foodstuffs about to make room for Garrus's dinner. Was he hiding from her, she wondered, or just busy? She reached around the open door and grabbed a marking pen someone had attached to the handle with a piece of string and scribbled on the lid of the topmost container.

Gardner rubbed his hands clean with the rag. "Like you helping me with that recirculating pump yesterday. I mean, I know you got a crapload of work to do yourself. You got better things to do when you're off shift. Like right now. Didn't you already punch out?"

Tali closed the fridge door and smiled at the human. "I try to be a good mice like the rest of you."

Gardner grinned back at her attempt to use the human word. Out of all the aliens on the ship, Tali always tried the hardest. "Well in my book, you're one of the best mice on the ship, ma'am. Thanks for your help."

"Happy to do it." Tali looked about once more to make sure nothing had been left behind that could contaminate her crewmates before walking away. "Thanks for letting me use your kitchen."

"Any time. See you later."

As Tali left the galley, she felt a little better. Just like everyone else on the new  _Normandy_ , Gardner was polite and respectful toward her. In spite of their Cerberus affiliation, she even thought of some of them as friends; Gabby and Kenneth, Kelly in CIC... but the truth was even the ones she kept at arm's length treated her kindly. She wasn't always as generous, she knew.

Out of habit, she found herself walking towards the starboard side of the mess next to the infirmary. She always wanted to minimize the risk of running into Miranda outside of her office. In spite of the day's progress, she'd still wasn't able to fully trust the senior operative. There was no way Miranda hadn't been involved, or at least been aware of Cerberus' most despicable deeds. But the others? She scanned the faces of the half dozen or so off duty staff scattered around the room. Some were eating, others quietly chatting, one quietly reading an actual, physical book. None were the monsters and murderers she and Garrus had fought against along with Shepard. They were just people.

As she neared the exit, she spotted Jacob sitting by himself at the aft table, idly picking at a tray of pasta as he scanned a datapad. Just like the others, Jacob Taylor always treated with her respect. In spite of the fact she showed him nothing but disdain, he fought beside her with the same dedication he showed towards everyone else. He wore the Cerberus uniform, but what had he done to her personally to warrant such a negative reaction other than be supportive of Miranda?

Tali stopped in front of the main lift. Her mind flashed back to the beginning of her journey on the New  _Normandy_. Jacob was with Shepard at Freedom's progress and was the first to greet her when she came aboard the ship after Haestrom. She still remembered bosh'tet's suggestion that she introduce herself to EDI, but even that turned out to be harmless. She still didn't trust the AI completely, but just like everyone else, EDI was tolerant, helpful, and even friendly to her.

She tapped the elevator's call button. Tali had always assumed Jacob was just being cruel, but that really didn't seem to be his nature. As she waited for the lift, she reflected on her interactions with him. Other than that first meeting, nothing really made an impression. Compared to Garrus and Mordin, or even Thane, Jacob's personality was very dry. But one thing did stand out.

Cerberus or otherwise, human or not, Jacob was the only person on the ship who always saluted the Commander.

The elevator door opened and crewman Hawthorne poked his head out to an empty corridor, wondering who would be so rude as to summon the ship's only lift and then walk away.

* * *

"Excuse me," Tali said. "I don't mean to interrupt you while you're eating."

"Tali! Hey." Jacob looked up from his datapad with surprise. He glanced around, expecting to see Garrus or one of the other squad members with her, but she stood alone at the end of the table. Was she there to talk to him? Based on their last interaction, he wasn't sure what to expect. Other than equipment requisition, this was the first time she had addressed him directly. "You're not interrupting. What's up?"

Tali looked around the mess hall as if she were afraid someone might overhear. "I just wanted to apologize. For how I acted earlier."

Jacob blinked. His first real conversation with the quarian was off to a surprising start. The fact that it was an apology made it all the more unusual. "Forget about it. We were all a little hot. Not really our finest moment."

"No," Tali shook her head. "I mean it. I accused you of being disloyal to the Commander. I know that's not true. I'm sorry."

Jacob stirred his fork into his meal. He wasn't sure what to say. Of all the original crew, Tali was the most cautious about Cerberus and its motives. It was, he knew, a reputation the organization had earned. As with Garrus before, he wasn't about to defend it. "Can't say I blame you for being suspicious. I know where that's coming from. You're looking out for your friends. Standing where you are, I'd probably feel the same way."

"Well," Tali shifted from leg to leg. "I- I'll let you get back to your meal. Talk to you later."

"See you," Jacob said as she turned to leave. But he couldn't let her go without saying to her what he said to Miranda. "Tali, hold up."

The quarian looked over her shoulder toward the human.

Jacob stood. "There's been something I've been wanting say to you since you came on board. You and Garrus, you two went through hell and back with Shepard. Then you dive back in to do it all over again. I want you to know how much I respect that. That kind of loyalty, you just don't see it anymore. And it goes both ways. Shepard always goes to bat for you, no matter what. And Garrus, too. You make one hell of a team. So I want to thank  _you._  For what all of you did two years ago, and for now. We owe you everything... you probably don't hear that enough."

Tali was only half successful at keeping her voice steady. After years of dismissals and cover-ups, criticisms and accusations, being forgotten was the norm. She cleared her throat. "Thank you. I don't know that we've ever heard it at all. Not in a long time."

"Then shame on all of us," Jacob said. "Because we shouldn't have let that slide." He and the engineer regarded one another silently for a moment. He smiled. "I mean, at the very least, we should have gotten you a little plaque or something. 'I Saved the Citadel,' right?"

Jacob could never really read Tali's expressions but her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Suddenly he was back in the briefing room, welcoming her aboard with his comment about EDI. Just when he'd made a breakthrough he had to go and ruin it with a careless remark, though for the life of him he couldn't figure out why that would make her mad.

But then, Tali cocked her head, and instead of irritated, she sounded amused. "How'd you know about those?"

"Garrus said something about it this morning. I thought he was kidding."

"No," Tali shook her head, her eyes still squinting because of the smile Jacob couldn't see.

"He was serious? That's what they gave you for saving the whole damn galaxy?"

Tali shaped her forefingers and thumbs into a rectangle just as Garrus had done. "It was about this big. From the Council itself. Made of cheap-grade ceramic with fake chrome trim."

Jacob grinned. "Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Shepard told us all to look on the bright side," Tali could never resist an opportunity to rag on the Council. "It was small enough that we could take it with us wherever we went, so we'd never forget. I think he ended up using his as a coaster."

"Nice." Jacob tried to choke back a laugh, but Tali's matter-of-fact delivery about absurd gift made it hard to keep a straight face.

Tali put her hands on her hips and sighed at the ceiling. "And, of course, they got my name wrong."

Jacob could hold back no longer. He laughed loud enough that everyone in the mess turned their heads to look for the source. "Oh, that's  _perfect."_

Tali leaned back against the wall, enjoying the sound of laughter from the usually stoic human. Like a chain reaction, though, thinking of the Council brought back memories of the disgraces that followed... the reassignment of the  _Normandy_  and its destruction, and two of the worst years of her life.

Jacob's smile faded. He didn't have to see her face to recognize her reaction. Thinking about good times had a tendency to lead down a darker path. It was unavoidable when alone with only the memories as company. Tali was already on her way. "Got a minute? Love to hear the story behind it."

"Really?"

"Hell yeah," Jacob waved her to the table. "Pull up a chair and drop some stories on me. Start with how you and Shepard linked up. I'm all ears."

* * *

Garrus deactivated his visor and closed his eyes. Afterimages from the technical display slowly faded away. His back ached, his arms were sore and bruised from groping around in the confines of the crawlspace, but the new fire control system was finally patched in and ready for testing... after a few hours of calibration, of course. If everything worked as he expected, he could be in bed in three or four hours.

Time would pass a lot quicker on a full stomach, he realized. It was at least an hour since Tali had departed, already past the third shift meal and his stomach was not happy about it. Skipping lunch probably didn't help either. He pulled himself out of the crawlspace, climbed up on the control platform and after locking the console, stepped out to the galley.

About third of the sleeping pods were occupied, as they usually were at any given time, so he tread quietly even though there was no chance they would be disturbed in the soundproof capsules. Beyond, Gardner had closed up shop and the kitchen area was clean and ready to prepare the next meal. The mess hall beyond was similarly deserted, or so he thought until he heard laughter from behind the partition blocking the large table near the aft end of the compartment. The six or seven people there were obviously having a good time, whatever they were talking about. Thankfully, the events in the briefing room had not triggered any bad blood beyond its walls.

He walked to the refrigerator and stopped when he heard Tali's voice.

"So," she was saying, "Joker brings the  _Normandy_  screaming in, lined up perfectly. Misses the temple spires by mere meters. He releases the Mako and we drop right into a tiny little clearing with barely twenty meters of runoff at two hundred kilometers per hour. We screech to a halt at the temple door right as it closes."

Garrus laughed to himself as he recognized the plot. Shepard's legendary skills in the Mako were about to take a beating. He continued to listen as he opened the dextro-only food compartment. He was surprised to see several resealable tubs on top instead of the usual pre-packaged, ready to eat meals.

Hand-scribbled on the topmost lid in almost-legible handwriting was a short note:

_Still friends - Tali._

Garrus held in his hands, re-reading the simple message. Though he couldn't see her, he still looked toward the sound of her voice, his mandibles twitching and his fringe flushed with color. Of all the conflicts resolved, this one mattered the most.

"Pinpoint accuracy, right?" Tali continued. "Nobody's been able to reproduce it even in simulation. So what happens? Shepard takes the wheel to back us up, to give us more clearance to disembark and he flips the damn thing on its side. He hit a tiny little stone wall no higher than my knee. And I'm not very tall!"

Amidst the renewed laughter, Garrus cracked open the container and inhaled deeply. Scents of spiced meat and fresh vegetables flooded his nostrils and sent his hunger into overdrive. He placed the three trays into the microwave and leaned against the counter as they heated, listening to Tali spin her tale.

"So Liara is freaking out about the damage done to the ruins, Saren's on his way to the Conduit, the only resistance within twenty light years is ninety degrees off-axis, and I've suddenly got a krogan warlord in my lap! All because Shepard doesn't know how to drive in reverse!"

"Come on, now," Jacob said. "He can't be that bad! The dude's got like five hundred hours in the Mako!"

Tali's voice was full of mirth, sounding as relaxed and confident as Garrus had ever heard. "That's what  _you_ think. But I swear, one time, Shepard went down early to warm it up before a drop, and by the time the rest of us got there, he'd flipped it upside down  _inside the hangar!"_

Everyone laughed again, mixed with boos and utterances of disbelief. Tali shouted to be heard above them. "He said it was a quad-jet malfunction. I ruled it a suicide. The poor Mako just couldn't take any more. True story! True story! You can ask Garrus!"

Garrus grinned and opened the oven just before the timer expired. He thought briefly of taking his meal over to the table to join in the revelry, but Tali was doing a fine job on her own. Besides, he still had work to do. He set the containers on a serving tray along with a set of utensils and carried them quietly back to the Battery. Behind him, the assassination of Shepard's driving ability continued.

"You know," Jacob told everyone, "we just got that new Hammerhead..."

Tali's tone turned desperate. "I'm serious. Here's what we need to do, right now. Go down to the hangar deck, open the main door, and push it out into space before he can get to it..."

Garrus sealed Battery's hatch behind him and set his food down on the bench to the right of his console. One of the windows on its holographic display blinked for attention. He walked over to it to see a message from Miranda:

_Sounds like quite a party out there._

_It is,_  Garrus responded.  _Why don't you join them?_

_The same reason you're in there typing to me,_  came the reply.  _Someone has to keep this ship running._

Garrus chuckled and turned back to the bench and his waiting dinner when the console chimed with another incoming message from Miranda. He turned back to read it, unsurprised she had still more to say on the subject.

_Well done._

He sat down for his meal and plunged a fork into a chunk of steak covered in a delicious smelling marinade, raising it to the console as a toast before enjoying the finest repast in recent memory.

* * *

**_The End_ **

 


End file.
